Born at Winnipeg on 28 July 1958, he moved with his family to British Columbia when he was seven years old. There, in 1977, his right leg was amputated after he was diagnosed with bone cancer. An active athlete, he continued to run using an artificial leg which gave him a characteristic hopping gait. In 1980, he attempted to run across Canada to raise awareness for cancer research but was forced to end the effort near Thunder Bay, Ontario when cancer spread to his lungs. He was the youngest person inducted into the Order of Canada. He died on 28 June 1981.

He was inducted posthumously into the Winnipeg Citizens Hall of Fame (2010) and, in 2014, the Manitoba government commemorated him by renaming the August civic holiday as Terry Fox Day.